Ree Drummond
Ree Drummond is a blogger, book author, and celebrity chef who is best known for her show ‘The Pioneer Woman’ on The Food Network.
Who Is Ree Drummond?
Born in 1969, Ree Drummond is a famous blogger, photographer and celebrity chef who first grew a fanbase around her award-winning blog, The Pioneer Woman, which she launched in 2006. In her blog she shared what family life was like living on an Oklahoma ranch, and soon after began posting recipes with sophisticated food photography in tow. After penning a couple of books on her personal life and her love for food, her millions of loyal readers followed her to the Food Network in 2011 when she launched her successful television series, The Pioneer Woman.
Net Worth
Ree Drummond has an estimated net worth of $50 million.
Mercantile
Little did Drummond know that her love for blogging would eventually explode into a multi-million dollar business empire. As part of her ever-expanding brand, the celebrity chef opened a two-level restaurant, retail store and bakery called the Pioneer Woman Mercantile in Pawhuska, Oklahoma in 2016. The 25,000 square-foot building, which the Drummonds purchased and renovated starting in 2012, serves as a marketplace for an average of 6,000 people per day.
The Boarding House
The Drummonds' love for building renovation and growing their business haven't stopped there. The family is the process of opening up a three-story, eight-room hotel right down the street from the Mercantile called The Boarding House.
“It’s gonna be small, but it’s also gonna have a lot of heart,” Drummond told People.
Each room will have a different theme and decor.
Husband & Family
Ree married prominent fourth-generation Oklahoma cattle rancher Ladd Drummond in 1996. She often refers to Ladd as "the Marlboro Man."
"He was just completely different than all the boys I'd been crazy about," Drummond told People in 2017. "I don't mean to make it sound like Maria and Tony in West Side Story, but I was just sort of like 'Oh boy!' My knees were weak."
The couple have four children together: Alex, Paige, Bryce and Todd.
Owning over 430,000 acres of land, the Drummonds are ranked as one of the top 25 largest land owners in America.
Early Life
Ree Drummond was born on January 6, 1969 in Bartlesville, Oklahoma as Anne Marie Smith. ("Ree" was her childhood nickname.) After graduating high school, Drummond moved to Los Angeles and attended the University of Southern California where she majored in gerontology. Although she was originally set to move to Chicago to pursue her law degree, she dropped her plans and moved back to Oklahoma after meeting and falling in love with her husband-to-be, Ladd Drummond.
Blog
In 2006 Drummond launched her blog ThePioneerWoman.com, which detailed her life living as a cattle rancher's wife and homeschooling her children in Pawhuska, Oklahoma. As she added a variety of content to her blog — including a food section filled with recipes — her fanbase grew. By 2011 Drummond was attracting over 20 million page views per month, leading her to book deals and her first televised appearance on the Food Network's Throwdown! With Bobby Flay in 2010, where she beat the celebrity chef in a cooking contest.
Drummond continues to blog on ThePioneerWoman.com, which functions as the heartbeat of her brand.
Recipes
Drummond's delicious food and dessert recipes can be found on ThePioneerWoman.com as well as on FoodNetwork.com.
Books
Drummond has authored a variety of books, among them are: Black Heels to Tractor Wheels (2007); The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl (2009); The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Food from My Frontier (2012); and The Pioneer Woman Cooks: A Year of Holidays: 140 Step-by-Step Recipes for Simple, Scrumptious Celebrations (2013).
In 2010 Drummond sold the film rights to her blog series-turned memoir, Black Heels to Tractor Wheels, and it was reported that Columbia Pictures was offering Reese Witherspoon the role to play Drummond.
